Monofilament lines are well known in the art and include strings made from a single fiber. Exemplary monofilament lines include vegetation trimmer or cutting lines, pulling lines, fishing lines and utility lines. The monofilament lines may be made from single component filaments or from multi-component filaments, and may be produced by a variety of methods such as, for example, molding, extruding and/or spinning. Many monofilament lines are made from polymeric materials. Typically, monofilament lines are produced and packaged in bulk form. Thus, a continuous line of single or multi-component filament is wound or otherwise positioned into a container or package designed to hold the monofilament line. Therefore, cutting the line is the responsibility of the user when it is necessary to cut the line to length for the intended use.
Packaging of the monofilament lines may be provided in a wide variety of forms, but typically involves winding the line onto a spool or within a container. The spool or container may be adapted to maintain the line in an organized, wound configuration and to allow for easy removal of a portion of the line from the package. A common type of container used in packaging monofilament lines is known as a “donut package” due to the shape of the wound monofilament line within the package. The package and the line packaged within it may be in the form of a donut.
Conventional string trimmers or weed cutting apparatuses utilized a portion of a monofilament line wound around a spool in the head of the trimmer. This length is typically 15 to 50 feet. However, string trimmers and weed cutting devices have increasingly employed fixed line heads in which a relatively short length of line, typically between 6 to 18 inches, are inserted into the heads of the trimmers. In response, manufacturers of monofilament trimmer line have begun producing some trimmer line prepackaged in relatively short lengths suitable for use in newer string trimmers and weed cutting devices. Production of monofilament line in these short lengths increases both the cost and complexity of the manufacturing process, which results in higher costs to consumers. However, where monofilament trimmer line is provided in longer lengths, a user must use an auxiliary cutting device to create the necessary shorter lengths for use in some newer string trimmers. This reliance on auxiliary cutting devices is also not ideal as many common cutting devices (e.g., scissors, utility blades) are not particularly suited for cutting monofilament lines, especially those having larger diameters.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,908,953 discloses a cutting tool attached to a package for wound line. The package and cutting tool are intended to alleviate the need for prepackaged monofilament line of relatively short lengths as well as reliance upon auxiliary cutting devices not particularly suited for cutting the trimmer line. However, the disclosed cutting tool suffers from its own disadvantages. The actuating mechanism of the cutting tool results in a downward force acting on the trimmer line packaging. This downward force is likely to cause damage to the packaging containing the remaining trimmer line. In addition, the plastics used to form conventional packaging do not always provide a stable surface for application of the force necessary to cut the line, depending on the thickness of the plastic.
Thus, there is a need for an improved cutting device for monofilament trimmer line that alleviates one or more of the deficiencies of the prior art.